"The Wanderer ~Spirals of Wrong~ Chpt: 2" by Morgan F Murray

Chapter 2

"I should have never left!" Iris screamed at the storm. "I may never see Jade again because of my stupidity!" He screamed so hard that it was almost as if he tried to conquer the storm. Who am I kidding, he thought, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was what happened in Tsaroth that sent his life into the hurricane. Evil, treachery, betrayal, ambition; all these were key elements in the creation of doom. People who were supposed to be sworn to their homeland to protect it turned their backs for profit. Knights who swore oaths to the code and measure sheathed their swords before threatening danger, leaders who rule countries trembled beneath intimidation. Iris would never forget that day, the day that the fate of the world’s entire existence crumbled like a charred oak. Even if he could right all the wrongs in the world, the images would burn into his very soul for eternity.

***

            The carriage lurched as the two brothers began their long and weary ride to the city of Tsaroth. Iris began to remove his, knowing that the ride through the forest and across the many leagues of grassy planes was going to take hours.

            Resting his head against the window, Iris watched the trees pass by the shaded road. He tried to hypnotize himself to sleep by crossing his eyes and watching the trees all bunch together, but it failed and his thoughts continued cloud with his lover.

            Throughout his entire career, Iris had never found time to leave his Talon and be with Jade. Khale was the only one who understood, but nobody else in the knighthood cared. He had spent several months in the north with his men, eating meagre bits of meals and never sleeping a wink in the dreaded combination of chill from both the arctic weather and his sorrow. It was hard for a knight to meet someone that they’d want to spend their life with. It was even harder finding one that lived away from the knight’s home city.

            When Iris met Jade, he was on a mission to place a small village under martial law to have a criminal removed from hiding. Jade was in the village at the time, delivering food and milk to her grandmother. Iris, under law, couldn’t let her in, so he took the food and milk to her grandmother for her. Jade was immediately intrigued by him and told him that no knight in the army would have done it for her. Under circumstances of Iris’ military position and role in the removal of the town’s criminal had Iris in a position where he couldn’t legally have anything to do with Jade for fear that she could have been an informant for the quarry.

All these thoughts kept Iris frustrated and it only increased his longing to be with this wonderful woman. Despite the fact that Iris was struggling to show no emotions before her, Jade kept coming back and Iris continued to bring her grandmother the supplies. Each time he did, he began to feel something more for her.

At last the day came when the criminal was finally excavated. He threw away his next assignment for the military without heading the questions and set out to invite Jade out for a picnic. She quickly and gleefully accepted, bringing Iris to her cottage where they dined on top of the hill. The same hill where he thought was absolutely perfect for him to ask for her hand in marriage.

Throughout the first few miles of the carriage’s journey Iris’ mind was blurred with frustration and compassion. He wished with all of his being that he could become a high-ranking soldier and earn enough gold to take Jade away and live fruitfully in some expensive castle. The problem was obvious, how was it possible for Jade to love a man that continued to leave her in a hurry to be off on some assignment that might claim his life sooner or later. In the midst of all of his worries Iris at last let out a deep sigh of surrender.

“Iris, are you alright, brother?” Iris turned his head to catch a sorry look on Khale’s face.

            “Don’t worry, Khale, I’ll be fine. I just wish that being a knight didn’t involve having no life of my own.” He turned back to the window and set his head on it once more. Just as his mind was about to slip back into the peaceful thoughts of his left-behind lover, Iris was startled by the carriage window’s sudden shatter.

Steadying his head before it was gashed open by the stalagmites of glass remaining on the windowsill, Iris backed up into Khale and away from a large fist swinging wildly into the carriage. From behind Khale came another crack of glass and the brothers were forced to lean on one another in the centre of the seat to avoid being hit by the large arms that reached in. Khale’s sword was quickly drawn and Iris fumbled for his own. Looking to his side he remembered that he had carelessly tossed the sword to the floor.

A deep, echoing scream came from behind him. One of the attackers had his arm nicely cut by Khale’s frantic swing. As quickly as the thought came to him, Iris bent down and extended his hand for his sword. The door of the carriage gave way to the mighty pull of one of the large men and Iris was jerked from the seat and onto the dusty ground. The sword was then further out of reach than before.

Back in the carriage, Khale was still fending off the men who tried to break open his door. As some attackers from his side went to take Khale, Iris stole a chance to make a swift account of the onslaught. There were seven men, four were on Khale’s side, and the other three on Iris’. There were possibly more ahead, by the looks of the arrows jutting from the coachman’s chest. On the ground, all tied up and gagged was the poor little footman, quivering under the mighty weight of a ruffian’s giant leg.

Iris shook his head and attempted to stand up, but was stopped by a beefy hand that gripped tightly on the base of his neck. Haughty and guttural laughing erupted from the ruffian’s muscle-choking throat. Iris’ eyes flared and he could even feel the small ring in his eyes burn the hot red that it does whenever the fuming anger within him began to boil past its tolerable point.

Iris violently shifted his weight towards the man’s legs and he latched a firm hand onto each calf muscle. With every drop of adrenalin running through his body, Iris heaved himself through the ruffian’s legs. This caused the big man to bend under himself and fall so that his head rapped hard on the hard ground.

Still puffing with the excitement of a good fight, Iris charged full-boar at the unaware ruffian who was busy laughing and jeering at the helpless footman. He dove through the air and the force of his body was enough to send them both crashing and tumbling under the carriage.

Iris rolled on top of the man and attempted to take control that way by beating him as well as the cramped position would allow. The large man grunted and shoved Iris upward, crushing his back into the bottom of the carriage. Iris groaned in pain and rolled sideways, placing both of their heads just beside the carriage wheel.

The big man took this moment to seize a strong hold on the Blue Knight and crush him. Iris could only groan as the man gathered his limp body in his arms. When the man began to squeeze, Iris gritted his teeth and let out a long cry of pain. Sense came to him in time to save his life. The man had to let go for a second to get a better hold on him. Iris used that moment to smash his own forehead into the big man’s square jaw.

Now it was his adversary’s turn to cry out in pain. Iris grabbed onto a wooden brace on the carriage and pulled as hard as he could, sliding him away from the deadly grip of the enemy. He kept heaving himself to the front of the carriage until his feet were just close enough to one of the horse’s legs. Pulling his leg back as far as the carriages bottom would allow, Iris kicked the horse’s ankle tendon.

Rearing and squealing in pain the horse jumped forward, jolting the accompanied horse’s attention enough for them both to begin a steady charge forward, away from the unseen attacker.

Below the carriage, Iris’ eyes widened and he rolled out of the way of the front wheel. A scream from the back wheel told him that one of his foes fell into the trap nicely. He looked up and covered his eyes to the gruesomely cracked open skull before standing and searching wildly around for his brother.

“Khale!” he screamed. A muffled reply came from in the carriage that was now rolling away. There were about four of the large men on the carriage. Two were dragging along, somehow attached to the doors, and the others were inside with Khale.

Iris gathered up strength once again to take off down the road. As he went he passed a fallen attacker and he pulled a dagger from the leather scabbard on the man’s belt. He dashed down the road, maintaining speed only because he feared for his brother’s life. He was forced to watch in horror as the carriage suddenly reared off the road and into the forest. The ruffians hanging off the edge were knocked off by offending trees and were sent tumbling along the forest floor.

Never slowing, Iris simply made sure the men were down with swift kicks to the head. Khale could be heard fighting for his life in the rolling rampage of a carriage. This forced Iris to lower his head and run faster. The sheer pain in his legs throbbed as he began to catch up to the wild horses.

Suddenly the carriage entered what appeared to be an extremely thin rocky ravine. The side smashed into the ravine wall and a great pile of rocks then blocked Iris’ path. Stopping for breath her bent over on his knees and frantically searched for a solution.

Hope shined as he discovered that there the forest ran a smooth path on the edge of that ravine wall. Iris stood and ran towards the rock pile and leapt as far to the right as he could manage. Dagger in hand, Iris extended his arm so the blade bit into a tree that extended close to the ravine’s wall. Kicking off the tree Iris used the dagger as a steady swinging pole to fly across the small gap and latch onto the wall’s ledge.

Once his footing was correct again, Iris smiled and darted along the steep ledge. The carriage inside the ravine seemed to be slowing due to the cramped rock walls on either side of it. Iris only went faster and at last when he was near enough he bound over the edge and landed on the roof. His left leg went right through and he felt his foot connect with something inside. Praying that it wasn’t his brother, Iris raised both arms and brought them down on the roof. The thin wood crumbled like nothing and he fell completely through and landed on what appeared to be the unconscious body of one of the ruffians. Directly to his left was Khale, he was being strangled by the remaining attacker.

Remembering his the sword on the floor, Iris reached down to retrieve it. He shrieked and jumped in pain as the ruffian crushed his hand between his boot and the floor. Khale gritted his teeth and reared his head backward to smash the man’s nose. The man simply grunted and tightened his grip on the younger knight.

Iris, fed up with feuding with these men, reached down with the other arm and yanked free his sword from its imprisoning scabbard. The tip of the blade pierced through the man’s boot and deep into the flesh of the foot.

Screaming wildly he relinquished Iris’ hand and his grip on Khale faltered. Once again Khale swung back his head to smash the man’s face. This time the hit was so hard that the man fell backward and out the carriage door, dragging Khale out with him. Iris panicked and leapt to the door, clutching Khale’s belt in both arms. He pulled his brother back into the carriage and the two of them exchanged worried glances.

“Well…I suppose we could’ve been more prepared for that, right brother?” Khale tried to laugh lightly, but it came out all raspy and choking. Iris shook his head and reached out a hand to pat his brother on the shoulder.

“No, Khale, we’re both alive. That’s all we should ever ask for,” Iris breathed. Khale shrugged and returned the gesture by tapping his older brother on the arm. Iris then saw a large amount of dripping blood from his wrist.

            “You’re badly wounded, we need to get back to the road. The footman has the medical pack with him.” He stood in the carriage and climbed out and onto the roof so he could pull the horses to a stop. Khale poked his head through the hole and looked his his brother questioningly.

            “Excuse me, Iris, but…how are was supposed to turn the horses around and back to the road when there was hardly enough room to knock that man out of the carriage door?” Iris paused and stared at his brother.

            “You’re right, we’ll have to walk back…Khale look out!”

            An oversized hand reached over the carriage to grab at Khale’s head. Khale ducked, and when he reappeared he was holding Iris’ sword. The ruffian didn’t care, he simply wanted the knight dead. Grabbing Khale by the collar, he roughly jerked him free from the hole and onto solid ground. Iris’ sword clattered on the carriage roof.

            Picking up his weapon, Iris let out a battle cry before bounding over the roof and landing beside his fallen brother. The ruffian smirked and withdrew a long, deadly sickle from the back of his belt.

            This was Iris’ battleground now. A confident breath escaped his lungs only seconds before he made his attack. The first swing was made hard and powerful, his blade ringing sharply off of the ruffian’s sickle. Curved and deadly, the sickle was wrapped and snapped nicely to Iris’ sword. Annoyed and slightly angered, Iris lifted the sword up over his head and made a great whirlwind of a cut down at his opponent. The great man leaped backwards and out of harm’s way.

            Iris’ unwavering gaze drove into his enemy’s watchful and alert eyes. The skin on his hand burned as Iris gripped the hilt tighter. Pressing all of his weight back into his right foot, Iris bent a knee.

            Unaware of the Blue Knight’s skill, the ruffian was shocked when Iris made a quick dash right past him. The strident battle of Iris rang through the ruffian’s head only seconds before it slipped off of his neck.

            A long line of blood slid off the edge of the blade and built up a thick, dirt covered pool at Iris’ feet. His eyes were closed. Drawing in a deep breath, Iris brought himself away from his world of violence and returned to the real world, where Khale was laying on the ground, ridden of energy.

            “Brother, are you alright?” he asked, running back to where he lay. Khale rolled from his side to his back and looked up at his brother with a smile. Iris let out a sigh of relief and fell to his knees to assist him.

            “Couldn’t be better, Iris,” he laughed as he was brought to a sitting position. “It reminded me of our school days.” Iris smiled and sat down beside him, wiping a bead of sweat that suddenly trickled down his nose. “Do you remember that day when you saved me from that large, really tanned boy?”

            “Oh yah,” Iris recalled, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky, “He was trying to steal your wooden sword that father made for you.” He looked back at Khale.

            “Yah, and I remember you were the one who beat him down with your own wooden sword. We were both removed from school that day.” The brothers shared a laugh in the momentary peace that settled over the ravine.

            Iris began to poke and finger a piece of old vine that seemed to have fallen from some old tree. Before the peaceful talk could carry out any longer, Iris stood up, eyes wide.

            “What is it?” asked Khale, somewhat startled at his brother’s actions.

            “Stand up, Khale, we have to go back to the road. The footman, he’s still alive, at least as long as the remaining ruffians behind don’t get to him first.” Jerking his brother to his feet he ran around the carriage with the little room the ravine wall left him.

            Drawing his sword, he brought it down on the ropes that bound the horses to their posts. Wrenching off the saddle of one horse, and making sure that Khale did the same with the other, Iris pulled himself up and aboard before turning the beast around and galloping back down the ravine corridor.

            Ensuring that Khale was at his horse’s heals, Iris sped up and made a full charge to the pile of rocks that clogged their path. His fingers curled around the stallion’s mane as they approached the pile. In the last second before they reached it, Iris closed his eyes and pressed his head to the horse’s back.

            The hooves clattered loudly on the rocks closest to the top and the stallions made another jump to clear the obstruction completely. The hard jolt when the ride was horizontal once more let Iris know that they made it. Opening his eyes he looked back again to see Khale, eyes still closed. Laughing lightly he patted the horse’s broad neck and looked again to his brother.

            “You are alive, Khale!” he shouted over the thunder of the two horses beating the ground in their hasty gallop. Khale let loose his eye lids and looked back in awe to find that he was indeed alive. He, too, began to laugh.

            “Undeniable as it is, it still scared the skin from my bones, Iris.” He ran a nervous hand through his loose, matte hair and shook his head in self-disagreement. “Well, lets hope that we’re not too late to save the footman,” he hollered as he fought off offending forest debris that seemed intent to bring him off his horse. Iris nodded and leaned forward in his saddle, urging the horse to hurry.

            Khale being the lighter of the two kicked his horse into the lead and drew his sword. Iris followed and lifted his head to be prepared. When the horses emerged from the forest and into sunlight once again, Khale bound forth even fast and swung his blade in a great circle.

            The two ruffians were fondly enjoying their tormenting games with the surviving footman until Khale charge through them and brought his blade down on one. A line of blood dotted the dirt road and the remaining man looked around for something to defend himself with.

            Iris watched as the man bent to pick up a large stick, leaving himself unprotected momentarily. He charged in the ruffian’s direction, but immediately tried to pull back as the large man wildly spun around and brought the bludgeoning weapon hard upon his chest.

            No matter how fast his grip on the reins could have been, there was no matching a powerful blow like that. Soon his back met the solid earth and the air rushed quickly from his lungs.

            Khale turned his horse just in time to see his brother fall and he immediately careered himself off the saddle to attack Iris’ offender.

            The blue knight could only stare at the sky as his brother assailed his attacker. He struggled to breathe, lifting his legs in his own pain and gritting his teeth against the frustration. Panic began to replace air, and he was soon becoming desperate for air. Lifting his head slightly, he saw the ruffian make a hard blow to his brother’s flank. Khale kneeled in pain and the large man raised his club to make a final hit.

            Iris forgot all about air and grasped his sword by the middle of the blade, leaned forward, brought the tip down into the ruffian’s side, and fell back again. Suddenly air came back to his lungs and he embraced its warmth and let it fill him. Khale, too, collapsed. Lying beside Iris, he patted his brother’s shoulder.

            “So…who saved whom, brother?” he said, gasping for breath himself.

            “I believe we are both even, Khale. It’s what being a team is all about. You’re there for me, and I’m there for you, and in the end we both come out on top.” He smiled and returned the pat.

            “Well…I suppose that works, as long as we’re both around to see that the other’s alive, there’s nothing we can’t do,” he said, rolling to his back and sharing Iris’ view of the sky.

            “You’re absolutely right, Khale. I won’t deny that. Now what say you…that we get up and head on to Tsaroth like we’re supposed to?” He tilted his head and his brother let out a sigh before looking at him, too.

            Raising one gloved hand, Khale’s brilliant oceanic eyes glittered as he smiled. Iris enclosed his own hand over his brother’s and smiled back. The two of them heaved one another to their feet. Then together they brought the horses together and untied the footman. Finally, they could finish their assignment and later return to their regular lives.